About Us

The Seattle Lesbian is a daily online newspaper operating from offices in the Pacific Northwest, and reaching communities spanning continents around the world. The Seattle Lesbian has changed the landscape of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) life by providing thought-provoking content with substantial relevancy on various angles of discussion and advocacy.

The Seattle Lesbian was awarded the McCormick Foundation‘s New Media Women Entrepreneur grant from J-Lab in 2012. The McCormick Foundation supports free, vigorous and diverse news media that provide citizens the vital information they need to make reasoned decisions in a democracy.

In 2015, The Seattle Lesbian became a NASDAQ content partner.

Sarah Toce, Founder/Publisher

Sarah Toce

Award-winning journalist Sarah Toce is the recipient of the distinguished 2016 LGBT Leadership Award from the Washington Diversity Council. In 2014, she was named one of GO Magazine’s Red Hot Entrepreneurs. In 2012, the McCormick Foundation named Sarah one of their New Media Women Entrepreneurs for her work developing and publishing Seattle’s daily LGBT online newspaper – The Seattle Lesbian. In its first year alone, The Seattle Lesbian reached a threshold of one million readers on a global scale.

Sarah currently serves on the Family Equality Council’s West Coast Advisory Committee. She is also the founder and producer of Seattle’s premiere lesbian Pride party – Seattle Women’s Pride.

Sarah has interviewed and profiled many of the world’s most influential players ranging from high-level politicians to A-list celebrities, health experts, and key civil rights advocates. Her diversified portfolio has runs the gamut between local, national and international news coverage and features.

In 2012, Sarah contributed to the book, Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America. Recently, she reported on the Windy City Times’ AIDS @ 30 series, which won the prestigious Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club, and was nominated for a national Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Award, in the same category with The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and the Online News Association (ONA).

Steph Brusig, Founder/Staff Photographer

Steph Brusig

Steph Brusig is co-owner of The Seattle Lesbian and a sports and events photographer who has captured everything from the Seattle Storm home games to the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. Her photos have regularly been featured in Curve magazine, Windy City Times, SheWired, San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, and other news outlets around the country.

When she isn’t attending high-profile sports or political events, Steph can be found on the red carpet. She has photographed everyone from Cybill Shepherd and Chely Wright to Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan. Steph serves as the staff photographer for The Seattle Lesbian.

The Seattle Lesbian Contributors

Kelly Morris

Kelly Morris is a preschool teacher and Starbucks barista by day and a contributing writer for The Seattle Lesbian and OUT FRONT by night. She lives in Denver and enjoys cooking, drinking coffee and binge watching reality television.

Heather Cassell

Heather Cassell is the publisher and editor of GirlsThatRoam.com, a new online women’s travel magazine and community. She’s covered LGBT and women’s issues for more than 20 years. Six years ago she began her roaming adventures in Austria, Israel, Canada, Central America and around the U.S. Most recently she’s visited Dublin, London, Madrid, and Paris and she continues to travel around the U.S.

She’s also owns and operates Girls That Roam’s travel agency arm, Girls That Roam Travel in association with Travel Advisors of Los Gatos, as an independent wanderlust counselor specializing in women’s and LGBTQ travel and helping people create memorable vacations.

Heather lives in San Francisco and San Jose with her partner.

Write for us! The Seattle Lesbian regularly features freelance features. Submissions may be made by contacting info@theseattlelesbian.com.